I am horrible at retaining information

[youfiad]

Why is it that some people can read something or see something one time and remember it for the rest of their life whereas there are people like me, that can reread something or see something twenty times and then the next time I run across it, I feel it's some sort of extra terrestrial information or object that is falling onto human eyes for the first time?

In a lot of my classes, I tendto have some of the highest grades, but the day after, or two days after, the information is new, all over again. It's just frustrating that I always have to spend so much time relearning things over and over and that, it seems, that nothing is ever tranlated into long term memory.

Rant is over!

[sixthson]

By tomorrow you will have forgotten your started this thread.

[maxpowr9]

I absorb information like a sponge which is why I can easily get Bs in classes. Course I am an underachiever and despise busy work as mostly useless. It's why if you look at my college transcript, there are a ton of 3.3s [88-91] on it. I just hope you have no interest in going into medicine or law because those fields are all about memorization.

[youfiad]

By tomorrow you will have forgotten your started this thread.

Not if it's still on the front page.

[bankside]

It was only last week that we explained to you how to deal with this...

[youfiad]

I absorb information like a sponge which is why I can easily get Bs in classes. Course I am an underachiever and despise busy work as mostly useless. It's why if you look at my college transcript, there are a ton of 3.3s [88-91] on it. I just hope you have no interest in going into medicine or law because those fields are all about memorization.

Funny thing is, medical school is pretty what my undergraduate career has been gearing me towards.

- - - Updated - - -

It was only last week that we explained to you how to deal with this...

What can I say? I forgot!

[gsdx]

I'm one of those lucky ones with a photographic memory. Unfortunately, I can never remember to take the lens cap off.

[SLOPPYSECONDS]

maybe nothin worths a of memoory it

like a folk keep repeat same info wot useless
ans folk A&Q each othda useless on repeat
etc so on
-now speed it up 10000%-

so 250000 yr + MAN + progress + 3 clams = ooh

anyway

Planet earth workin on it -

thankyou

1st world awsums a eons thumb up butt was not say is this post

[borg69unimatrix]

I have the same problem... but fortunately, downloaded porn is like new again when re-watched.

[JohannBessler]

@Youfiad:

You can increase your memory significantly by keeping a dream diary, or (to a lesser extent), writing Morning Pages.

It does take time to work, though.

[martin6]

I think it has to do a lot with what you care about. So if I'm not interested in the information presented to me five minutes ago, I've forgotten it. Learning someone's name, or anything relating to numbers, escapes me immediately. But I can tell you almost anything relating to the geological or human history of Mount Rainier. Because that shit is awesome.

[maxpowr9]

My long-term memory is the bane of me and I wish I could blank out memories like some people can. I remember the most minute details that it tends to horrify people when I bring them up again. It makes me a very jaded person when people bring up things they have already said and I have to remind that they said that thing already.

[Telstra]

It depends on how interested you are.
If a really hot guy comes along, you would remember him for a very long time.

[dereperez]

I'm in the same boat as you, youfiad...thought probably not quite that bad. I tend to cram information into my head for midterms, but only retain a small amount of it. I feel like I have to re-memorize most everything again when it comes to finals. I find that it does help to go to bed right after studying though. The whole consolidation thing works. I tend to remember things (to my surprise) the next morning when I do a quick review before the exam.

[eastofeden]

My long-term memory is the bane of me and I wish I could blank out memories like some people can. I remember the most minute details that it tends to horrify people when I bring them up again. It makes me a very jaded person when people bring up things they have already said and I have to remind that they said that thing already.

Ditto...I absorb information and can't forget it...wish I could. I also remember everything someone says to me and in college I pretty much only had to attend the lectures and skim the reading material as I retained everything.

I am sure there are other things but one thing I can't remember is someone's name...

One of my regular guys in the bar I knew for maybe 18 years at the time...he was a Police Officer and I had listened to him recount the moments of his life for...18 years...and I remembered everything he told me...except his name. One night he asked me to introduce him to this guy and I began the introduction and then it struck me...i didn't know his name! FUCK! No easy way out of that one...I made something up real quick...I think I told them I wanted to let them introduce themselves to each other so in case it didn't work out it wouldn't be my fault. Lame...I know...but whatever works.

[Huntneo(PT)]

*sighs*

I thought it was just me.

I swear as the years pass...I become worse. I'll just do my best.

[xbuzzerx]

here I am
rock you like an Elephant.

[star-warrior]

I have the same problem mostly, I remember the big details but the small ones slip through my sieve brain.

When I studied stuff, I'd make notes as I went along. This helps enormously with recall. For the subjects I wanted to do better in, I'd always rewrote the lecture scribble into more legible compact notes.

For example, the entire course on electromagnetism from first principles to the full derivation of all Maxwell's equations was condensed into just over half a small excercise book.

[JohannBessler]

Youfiad, do you consume a lot of caffeine?

Caffeine directly interferes with Short-Wave-Sleep, which, in turn, is responsible for the brain retaining information in its memory stores.

If you eliminate the caffeine, your SWS patterns will re-establish themselves, and you should see an improvement in memory.

[PreTTy PeTe]

By tomorrow you will have forgotten your started this thread.

haha that's funny.

hey youfiad I banged my head few years ago and now everyday is new to me. Sort of like the movie groundhog day, but I do retain key things that I do.

Cool part is I forget the stupid things people do and watch the same tv shows over and over again and it's always like watching a new episode.

[youfiad]

here I am
rock you like an Elephant.

I could never forget you. You're the guy I continually pwn in current event section. <3

[RaKroma]

I just hope you have no interest in going into medicine or law because those fields are all about memorization.

That's actually not true. In law school, the goal is not to produce a parrot that will regurgitate every landmark case or statue but to develop specific reasoning skills for you to navigate the system. If lawyers were expected to memorize everything, you wouldn't find law libraries in law firms.

[Scealle]

I have really bad memory and I tend to forget things that I learn in class. My field needs more hands on though and some general good art sense. So I manage to pull off ok.

[freefall]

I have excellent memory for many stuffs, mostly unnecessary and trivial, often in a single run. I thus have no problems listening to lectures or remembering phone numbers for a short while when there is no pen and paper around.

On the other hand, I almost always forget to reply SMSs in the middle of composing them, and often have to search the entire house for my wallet and cellphone

Compensations?

[crimsonpaine]

I can be really bad about retaining information especially if it's important, but really great at retaining useless information.

[oakpope]

If you want to memorize things long term, repeat the learning experience (re read, or re listen, etc) 2 or 3 days in a row just before going to sleep. Then repeat it the next week. Then the next 3 months repeat again once. Then next year. You should then remember it for the rest of your life, baring brain damages.

Treat memory like a muscle that needs constant work to keep it working.

[loveguys72]

Here's the deal: you learn what you do. If it's information or a skill you use daily and repeatedly, you'll remember it. Otherwise, it's just trivia, and you may discard at will.

[oakpope]

^I hope you're joking.

[72-Jay]

Same for me.. I have a bad memory even stuff like remembering names is difficult

[xbuzzerx]

I could never forget you. You're the guy I continually pwn in current event section. <3

Hi!!!!